Mere Memories
by Paranoid Zephyr
Summary: Not everyone knew that Zero suffered from nightmares.


Zero screamed as he shot up from his place on the bed he shared with X. It pierced the night, cutting through silence and shattering the facade of calm that always betook the darkness. Eyes wide, he gripped at the blankets that pooled about his waist. His hands shook as violently as the rest of him, and his chest heaved as he attempted to regain his breath, calmness evading him. Blonde hair blocked his view of his love as the brunette Reploid awoke as well, immediately to his aid. A soft hand reached behind him and placed itself on his back. It rubbed in small circles gently, X quietly shushing him.

It wasn't the most effective of measures, though. The scream had damaged even his own audio receptors, temporarily tuning out the questions and reassurances that the brunette was murmuring. All he heard was white noise, and somehow that was worse than the piercing pain of his own cry. His opticals fought fervently to adjust, his disorientation and inbred fear keeping them from running as normal. All of his systems were messing up, as the distinct beeping of error callbacks and scans rang in his ears.

It was overwhelming to say the least of his condition. It was as if he was being overloaded with information with no time to deal with the utter mass of data. His head was spinning and his chest was tight. Zero's grip on the blankets at his hips was only loosened so that the same crushing grip could be re-directed to X, who somehow managed to pry his left hand from the cloth. The brunette used his free hand to pull the long blonde locks away from Zero's face, resting them behind his back as he leaned up and ran a hand along his cheek.

It took several moments before Zero could tell that X was talking to him. The static and alerts had begun to fade as his systems were finally compensating, and his love's quiet voice was able to-albeit unfavourably-reach him.

"Zero...? Zero are you okay? What happened? Is there anything I can do?" he asked. The worry was evident in his voice, the hushed cries beginning to make him feel somewhat guilty for his condition, if not a bit relieved that X was actually there. As soon as he was capable of controlling all of himself, he grabbed onto X. He nearly crushed him, his face burying itself in the crook of the other's neck.

They sat there in silence until Zero finally released the smaller of the two, sitting back with tired eyes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

X immediately shushed him, placing a finger to his chapped lips. "There's nothing to be sorry for, okay?" he kissed him, eyes fluttering closed. It didn't really help, but the mere thought, the mere feeling of X's lips on his was enough to calm him. He took a deep breath as they parted, moving back over to where he had laid before on their shared bed, chest beginning to rise and fall in a normal rhythm once more.

X asked him if he wanted to talk about it, to which he declined. He didn't want to bother X with the thought that ran through his mind. He knew X could handle it-he was a hunter after all-but he felt it unnecessary to burden his lover with such thoughts. He looked over to X, eyes beckoning him to join him once more, but X leaned over him.

"I love you, Zero." chapped lips were pressed against his cheek, and it briefly made him smile.

"I don't" he murmured. X swung a leg overtop of Zero's waist, pulling the covers with him. He took care to not actually lay on the Reploid below him, instead leaning down to let their lips meet once again. Zero's hands lazily laid themselves on the small of the brunette's back as he sighed into the kiss. Their eyes met and X gave a small smile tinged with worry. Zero guessed he still didn't believe he was alright. He didn't blame him, with the greater frequency that they had been occurring at lately. He supposed that the war may finally be getting to him. Or perhaps he was simply being taken advantage of in his calmer moments.

"Then I'll have to love you enough for the both of us, then." fingers threaded themselves through long blonde hair, larger hands finding themselves in brunette locks. It wasn't passionate, or even at the front of their minds. The movement of their mouths was lazy, the two enjoying each other's company more than the physical contact. The green-eyed hunter pulled away, and Zero's brows raised as a small grin graced his features basking in the light of their chargers.

****X supposed it wouldn't take long for Zero to fall back asleep, and he hoped that it would be as peaceful as it had been before. But he thought that maybe, as their fingers intertwined and he laid his head on the larger male's chest, it was almost worth it to see yet another side to the algorithm that was Zero. Every emotion, every outburst, every doubt and wish. X loved it all.


End file.
